Those Who Must Be Silenced Series

Please turn to Matthew 15

That is why Paul says that to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, or can be pure, because both their mind and their conscience are defiled. All their perspectives and actions are infected with their inner defilement. Those who are corrupted and do not believe cannot make themselves pure by strictly adhering to human commands (i.e., ceremonial or ritualistic practices of purity or cleanliness). Even the Old Testament gives expression to the fact that external religious ceremonies, originally designed as an outward expression of inward repentance, are absolutely ineffective alone (1 Sam 15:22; Isa 1:11–18; Hos 6:6; Mic 6:6–8). David also clearly expressed the inability of any religious ceremony to cleanse from sin. Rather, he declared that God values the internal cleansing of moral evil by a “broken and contrite heart” of repentance (Ps 51:16–17) (Lea, T. D., & Griffin, H. P. (1992). 1, 2 Timothy, Titus (Vol. 34, p. 292). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).

In Matthew 15, Jesus explained:

Matthew 15:10-20 10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” (ESV)

• Is Jesus contradicting Paul’s instruction to Titus? Jesus is speaking of false teachers in the world. Paul is addressing false teachers in the Church. We often worry so much about offending the world, like the concern mentioned in v.12 how the Pharisees were offended about what Jesus was saying. Jesus refocuses their concern about their own heart. We are not called to police the world but police our own hearts. If we spent as much time on that as we worry about offending others, then the general charge of Christians being hypocrites, which is a major obstacle in sharing the gospel, would disappear.

Only God, of course, can evaluate a person’s heart. But by the way they live, unbelievers usually betray their unbelief. By their words finally in verse 16, they profess to know God, but they deny him by their works/deeds. People who trust in their works righteousness also tend to have an air of superiority about them, believing, like the ancient Greek gnostics, that they are “in the know” about religious matters and live on a level above other people. They not only profess to know God but to know Him better than others. The truth, however, is that they do not know Him at all, much less have a saving relationship to Him. This usage of the term “profess/confess” indicates that these false teachers actually claimed to be Christian believers. (Lea, T. D., & Griffin, H. P. (1992). 1, 2 Timothy, Titus (Vol. 34, p. 292). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).